A new outbreak of highly contagious avian influenza has been detected at poultry farms in southwestern France, local media reported Monday. 

The H5N1 virus has been identified on seven poultry farms -- five in Mant and one in Castelner in the Landes department and one in the Malaussanne commune in the Pyrenees-Atlantiques department of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, a report by public radio outlet France Blue said. 

The infection has progressed since the first case was confirmed at a farm in Hastingues, Landes on Dec. 19.

To prevent the virus from spreading to other farms, authorities are carrying out the preventive slaughter of poultry from the infected farms, and 37 municipalities in Pyrenees-Atlantiques and 34 in the Landes department linked to the outbreak have been declared restricted areas. The transport of live birds and poultry products including meat and eggs as well as manure and slurry indoors is prohibited in these areas.

Other poultry farms have been directed to follow biosecurity rules and exercise daily surveillance in case of abnormal mortality of the birds.

The virus is generally found among wild birds and is transmitted to domestic poultry in many European countries, a statement from the prefecture of Pyrenees-Atlantiques said. The consumption of meat, fatty liver and eggs does not present any risk to humans, it added.

Around the same time last year, poultry farms in the southwest of the country were infected with the H5N8 virus, leading to the culling of over 1 million birds. The region has a high number of duck farms and is famed for the production of foie gras, the national gastronomic delicacy of the fattened liver of ducks or geese./aa